Purchasing Thought Process

[superjoe76]

Whenever I am ready to make a gun purchase I always go through a long thought process weighing pros and cons before I actually make the purchase.

I see a lot of people selling guns that "they just didn't like" so I was wondering what others do before hand.

Thanks to the internet I can do online research. I ask family and friends what their experience is with a particular gun. I look into the price and availability of ammo. I go to shops to make sure it is something I even like (if I saw it on the net first). It usually takes me a few days to a couple weeks to actually make a purchase.

Am I odd, or do people just run in and buy something hoping its what they like?

 

[CBR1000rr]

I wouldn't consider you odd. I go through a very similar process. I consider many factors such as how easy a weapon is to field strip, clean and repair as well as availability and cost of ammo. I also consider the purpose of the caliber I'm considering. I recently purchased a savage 110 in the .243 caliber. I had considered the 22-250 but felt the .243 was a more versitile round.

As for research, I spend so many hours looking up reviews and ballistic coefficients that it isn't funny. Fortunately my wife hasn't disconnected the internet in spite!

 

[PlinKing2392]

I'm the same way. I take a few months if necessary, through online research on the pro's, con's, reviews, shooting demo's, breakdowns, you can know more about the gun them if you just held it at the shop (although, I firmly believe in going to the shop and discussing the firearm with the clerk and handling it first hand). I still got a little pocket pistol I'm not thrilled with, and would get rid of if I wanted something else and couldn't afford it otherwise.

 

[INyooper]

For me, research is half the fun of getting whatever I might be after and it's part of any major purchase, not just firearms. Another part of the process is when I try to talk myself out of it, which might sound somewhat strange, but helps keep the more impulsive purchases in check.

 

[eldirector]

I've been researching "pocket" pistols for months! Your aren't strange at all (well, at least for THIS reason).

The only thing I wish I could do before buying is get some range time. Can't do it with new guns, and unless you know someone who already has want you want.....

 

[JettaKnight]

I now have a C&R FFL so I tend to be more impulsive now. I order online, sight unseen. Sometimes I can sell for slightly less than my cost if I find out I don't like it or I find something else I'd rather have.

For all other things I buy (esp. electronics), I tend analyze heavily. That's just my Systems Engineering come through.

 

[JettaKnight]

Oh, I should add that my impulsiveness is for calibers I currently have only.

 

[blamecharles]

Research, Research and more research from me. Most important still comes down to feel of the weapon. If it doesn't feel right it just doesn't feel right.

 

[snorko]

I do both. I have been struggling with picking up a micro 9mm for a while, vacillating between "gun A is what I want" to "do I even want one".

Conversely I walked into an LGS the other day, glanced down in the case and said "Hey, is that a blued Colt Gov'nt Model .380? I'll take it. Oh, is that a S&W 2214 next to it? throw that on the form as well, please". for less than $600 OTD, I could not resist.

 

[Titanium Man]

Unless it is just an absolute no brainer of a deal, I usually go through a "cooling off" period before I make a large purchase.

 

[Titanium Man]

One thing to always consider when purchasing a new gun. How much will the extras cost you'll "need", after purchasing it?????

 

[Goober135]

I've loved pretty much every gun I've bought. Sometimes I do a decent amount of research and whatnot, other times it's a snap decision. My most recent purchase was the latter because I was offered a deal I couldn't refuse. Just depends I guess...

 

[JohnP82]

I do as much research as possible before I buy. I have yet to buy something I was unhappy with. I have had maybe two impulse buys that were firearms related, but they both worked out great.

 

[cwillour]

I like to do a decent amount of research and often spend anywhere from a week to two months deliberating and researching a purchase, but since I have found limited opportunities to shoot most of the guns before I purchase them (not enough friends w/ the right collections) I sometimes find that I just do not like the way a certain gun handles under recoil or I underestimate how some aspect will affect my desired usage.

Other times I have intentions of starting activities and life happens (which can make good planned purchase become a safe-queen in a hurry.)

 

[jason765]

my problem is that while Im working my way up to a particular purchase, I get distracted and find something else I want more. I have some form of gun triggered ADD. It took me 2 years of "wanting", 1 hour of inspecting(every rifle), and all the patience a store manager had in her body, before I commited to a Mosin. Even minor gun buys throw my brain into overdrive.

 

[Hanen42]

Nothing wrong with over analyzing your purchase. Research can tell you everything you want to know before you even fire the weapon. I've spent forever to decide that I wanted a Rem 700 SPS Tactical 308. I told one of my Army buddies about it, turns out he just bought the same rifle. Of course he talked me into it haha.

 

[Femme Assise]

I am a lot like you. before buying a firearm I thoroughly research it, read reviews, and rent one at the range to test fire. The biggest thing that I consider when purchasing a new firearm is it's reliability. I ask myself "Is this a gun that I can have full confidence that it will work when I need it to?".

 

[88E30M50]

I've purchased both ways. There have been a couple of purchases that just caught my eye and were priced low enough that I did not have to think about it much. For example, I picked up a 1914 Swedish Mauser with all matching numbers for $199 a little while back. I don't think I spent more than about 1 minute deciding if I was going to get that one.

But, the more expensive purchases, gun or not, do get thought through. I don't so much think of what it costs, but what value it gives me for the cost. In cases like this, I try to figure out what I'm getting for my money that I don't already have. When considering a Kimber Compact with a rail, I ended up turning it down because I already have a compact Kimber, so that $900 was not going to make a difference in my ability to shoot that style gun when I wanted to. If I traded my old Kimber in, I'd be lucky to get $600 for it, so even at only $300 to upgrade, I would not have ended up with $300 worth of improvement over what I had. Plus, that rail would have meant a new holster too.

I drive old cars because I don't see $25000 in value by buying a new car. Both get me where I'm going comfortably and safely. Do I want to spend $25K for a couple of MPG better, or a better stereo? Nope. My '92 is pushing 200K on the clock and does everything I need it to do.

I've tried to teach my sons that the value of something is not so much what it's worth, but what it actually gives you. When I'm buying a second copy of a gun I own, it brings nothing to the table except the ability to keep shooting that type of gun if the first one is broken or confiscated after a good shoot. In that case, it's worth the cost. But, if I already have a spare and the new one is just a bit lighter or prettier, then the value it brings is much less. Do I really want to spend $600 on a gun that's 3 oz. lighter than the one I already have, with all other things being equal?

Now, all of that goes away with certain things that are owned for their beauty instead of their function. All logic goes away at that point.